Authorities continued Wednesday to search for a Walker County woman missing since Monday morning and whose car was found abandoned at Cloudland Canyon State Park on Lookout Mountain.

Judy Payne, 45, of Rock Spring was last seen Monday about 7 a.m.

Kim Hatcher, public affairs coordinator with the Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites, said the search continued Wednesday with ground crews and dogs in the 3,500-acre park.

On Wednesday morning about 40 people began searching, Hatcher said. That number was expected to fluctuate as some went off duty and others came on duty, she said.

“Cloudland Canyon is an extremely rugged park,” Hatcher said. “It is probably one of the most rugged parks in Georgia, so it is very difficult on searchers and the search dogs as well. It is difficult when it so wet, and it is slick -- especially the rocks are slick. You’ve got some really steep vertical cliffs here. It takes much longer to search this terrain than it would terrain that isn’t so steep. It is a difficult task that these men and women are tackling right now.”

In a news conference shortly before noon Wednesday (see video of conference below):

Hatcher said ground search crews stopped searching at dark on Tuesday, while search dog crews continued throughout the night.

Rain has hindered the search because it is pushing any possible scent down into the canyon, Hatcher said.

Payne has a husband, Mark, and two adult children, she said.

Payne may have been seen Monday around noon wearing a pink or red outfit, but that sighting is unconfirmed, Hatcher said.

Officials don’t know if Payne had her cell phone with her.

Nothing had been found by searchers and no scent had been picked up by the search dogs, Hatcher said.

Before Wednesday’s news conference, Hatcher said crews so far had searched along main trails and cliffs in a 10-mile area.

She said Payne worked for the park as a clerk in the main office for a short time about seven years ago. She said that fact probably doesn’t factor into the events, including Payne’s familiarity with the terrain, since Payne worked there only a short time and it was so long ago.

Hatcher said searchers are using a grid system that takes into account how far Payne might have traveled in a circular distance during the period she has been missing.

A park ranger found Payne’s car, a black late-model Mazda Miata convertible, in the park on Lookout Mountain in Dade County about 10:30 p.m. Monday. Officials then notified Payne’s husband.

Payne’s husband told authorities his wife was last seen about 7 a.m. Monday when she left for work.

Crews searched trails for her Monday night and Tuesday, including a helicopter crew on Tuesday. Those involved in the search include the Dade County Sheriff’s Department, park rangers, an aviation unit from Georgia State Patrol post in LaFayette, the FBI and area fire departments.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Dade County Sheriff’s Department at (706) 657-4111.